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Pay attention Notre Dame fans to the next two games.
It doesn’t matter what the outcome is; you need to see what Connecticut and Stanford are doing on offense, defense and special teams.
Why you might ask?
Because the next two games will be an open audition for Randy Edsall at UConn and Jim Harbaugh at Stanford for the head coaching position for the Fighting Irish.
I think even the most diehard Notre Dame fan is coming to the conclusion that Charlie Weis’ time in South Bend is up.
While many of them probably wish the school wouldn’t have to be searching for a new coach just five years after replacing Tyrone Willingham, the truth of the matter is they probably will be after the season ends if they already haven’t started the search.
From the perspective of recruiting and running a clean program, Weis has done nothing wrong.
From the perspective of wins and losses and playing well in big games and earning trips to high caliber bowl games, he has not cut the mustard.
Let’s face it, Notre Dame is a tough place to coach.
The fans expect a lot from their team and their coaching staffs.
They expect to see the Fighting Irish competing for national championships and playing in bowl games on New Year’s Day.
Anything less than that and you are a failure.
Is that fair? Of course not.
But that’s the reality of coaching at a school that is right at the top of the list of all-time winningest programs.
It’s also the reality of coaching at a school that does not play in a conference.
Competing for conference championships or winning them can keep fans sidetracked while you try to build a team that is strong enough to compete for a national championship.
Edsall may not be at the top of everyone’s list when it comes to Weis replacements, but he certainly could leave a lasting impression if his Huskies can beat the Fighting Irish in their final home game of the 2009 campaign.
And don’t kid yourselves Notre Dame fans, Connecticut is capable of beating the Irish on Saturday.
After all, the Huskies went toe-to-toe with highly ranked Cincinnati two weeks ago, falling 47-45.
So pay close attention to the game and how things play out. You never know, that may be your next head coach standing on the sidelines.
Scott Novak is sports editor of Leader Publications. He can be reached at scott.novak@leaderpub.com or by phone at 687-7702.
Also check out my blog: leaderpubsports.blogspot.com
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Scott…what happened to the practice of never beginning a sentence with a preposition?